| 53rd Wisconsin Legislature | |||||
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| Wisconsin State Capitol ca.1915 | |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | Wisconsin Legislature | ||||
| Meeting place | Wisconsin State Capitol | ||||
| Term | January 1, 1917 – January 6, 1919 | ||||
| Election | November 7, 1916 | ||||
| Senate | |||||
| Members | 33 | ||||
| Senate President | Edward Dithmar (R) | ||||
| President pro tempore | Timothy Burke (R) | ||||
| Party control | Republican | ||||
| Assembly | |||||
| Members | 100 | ||||
| Assembly Speaker | Lawrence C. Whittet (R) | ||||
| Party control | Republican | ||||
| Sessions | |||||
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| Special sessions | |||||
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The Fifty-Third Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 10, 1917, to July 16, 1917, in regular session, and re-convened in two special sessions in February and September 1918. [1]
During this session, the new Wisconsin State Capitol was completed after 13 years of reconstruction following the 1904 fire. The official dedication ceremony was postponed until the end of World War I. [2]
Senators representing even-numbered districts were newly elected for this session and were serving the first two years of a four-year term. Assembly members were elected to a two-year term. Assembly members and even-numbered senators were elected in the general election of November 7, 1916. Senators representing odd-numbered districts were serving the third and fourth year of a four-year term, having been elected in the general election of November 3, 1914. [1]
The governor of Wisconsin during this entire term was Republican Emanuel L. Philipp, of Milwaukee County, serving his second two-year term, having won re-election in the 1916 Wisconsin gubernatorial election.
| Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dem. | S.D. | Rep. | Vacant | ||
| End of previous Legislature | 9 | 1 | 20 | 30 | 3 |
| Start of 1st Session | 6 | 3 | 24 | 33 | 0 |
| From April 27, 1917 [note 1] | 2 | 32 | 1 | ||
| Final voting share | 25% | 75% | |||
| Beginning of the next Legislature | 2 | 4 | 27 | 33 | 0 |
| Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dem. | S.D. | Rep. | Vacant | ||
| End of previous Legislature | 29 | 8 | 63 | 100 | 0 |
| Start of 1st Session | 13 | 7 | 80 | 100 | 0 |
| From Feb. 14, 1917 [note 2] | 79 | 99 | 1 | ||
| From Apr. 10, 1917 [note 3] | 14 | 100 | 0 | ||
| From July 1, 1917 [note 4] | 78 | 99 | 1 | ||
| From Dec. 10, 1917 [note 5] | 13 | 98 | 2 | ||
| From Dec. 25, 1917 [note 6] | 77 | 97 | 3 | ||
| From Jan. 3, 1918 [note 7] | 12 | 96 | 4 | ||
| From Feb. 19, 1918 [note 8] | 13 | 8 | 79 | 100 | 0 |
| Final voting share | 21% | 79% | |||
| Beginning of the next Legislature | 6 | 16 | 78 | 100 | 0 |
Members of the Senate for the Fifty-Third Wisconsin Legislature: [3]
Members of the Assembly for the Fifty-Third Wisconsin Legislature: [3]